Haunted house
A haunted house is a building in which paranormal activity is said to occur. The building may be haunted by one or more ghosts which might appear in front of visitors. It may be home to some poltergeist activity or strange noises. Visitors may simply get a feeling of intense unease upon entering what is supposed to be a haunted house. They may have the feeling that they are being watched or experience sudden and intense changes in temperature when entering certain rooms. Visitors may get the feeling that they are in a place where a person, or several people, were once extremely unhappy or in a place where a violent crime once took place. Although there are fictional and non-fictional accounts of hauntings taking place in modern buildings which look quite unremarkable, the popular image of a haunted house is a large ornate building which appears to have once belonged to someone very wealthy. In a North American setting the house is likely to date to the 19th century, in a European one it is likely to be much older than that. The house is likely to be dark in color, both inside and out. The house may be abandoned or, although one person or a few people may still be living there, it at least looks like it has been abandoned; being dilapidated and dirty, full of spider webs and probably the home of several bats and rats in addition to supernatural creatures. Haunted house attractions Haunted houses are a standard part of Halloween. In addition to scary stories about haunted houses, people set up obstacle courses with scary themes and scenes. Have you set up a haunted house? Do you have any helpful hints for others? Props: * Cardboard coffin * Cardboard or foam grave headstone * Steaming cauldron (use dry ice) * Fog machine * Sound effects (scary music or other scary sounds on a tape or CD) * Participants in costume who can help by startling visitors * Walls or furnishings to create a path through the "house" and confine visitors so they come around corners from angles where they can't see what's on the other side * Scary things to touch (spaghetti for brains, peeled grapes for eyes, etc.) Variations There are so many variations of haunted house attractions such as haunted hayrides, haunted corn mazes, haunted asylums, haunted garages, and of course, haunted graveyards. And in Japan, during the Bunkasai festivals in various schools across the country, which takes place in late October early November, some students decide to turn their classroom into a haunted house. However, unlike American haunted houses that sometimes use traditional grave headstones, Japanese haunted houses sometimes use traditional Japanese graves. Also, they are said to be more immersive than American haunted houses. See also * Mystic Mansion External links *Wikipedia's article on haunted houses *Haunted house on Television Tropes & Idioms *How to make a haunted house on ehow *How to Make a Haunted House: Make Your Own Halloween Haunted House from the Family Crafts section of the About.com site *How to make a haunted house on wikiHow Category:Activities Category:Background information *